The present invention relates to a clip for attaching a cover member or trim and a structure for attaching the cover member.
In a vehicle, such as an automobile, and a building or the like, there is a structure that a groove section is formed and extended in a member to which the cover member is mounted (a roof, a side body, a door, a wall or the like), and the cover member or trim is held by a clip fixed at a bottom surface of the groove section, so that the groove section is covered by the cover member. In the structure for attaching the cover member described above, the cover member generally has a substantially C-shape in section, and a cover member side engaging section is formed at a longitudinal opening of the cover member.
Using this characteristics, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 8-72630, the clip may include a base plate fixed to the bottom surface of the groove section formed in the member to which the cover member is mounted, a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate to engage the cover member side engaging sections, and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against a central portion of a top inner surface of the cover member in a width direction. Accordingly, by engaging the cover member side engaging section of the cover member with the engaging sections of the clip, the cover member is fixed tightly to the base plate, so that the loosening in the accessing and separating directions is restrained by an urging force attributed to the abutting piece section. At the same time, the cover member is prevented from disengaging from the clip, that is, the cover member is constantly fixed to the member to which the cover member is mounted.
The aforementioned cover member is generally provided with lip members, which are made of an elastic material and disposed at both sides of the cover member in the width direction. The lip members elastically abut against the inside wall of the groove section to prevent the cover member from loosening inside the groove section (including a mode in which the cover member is partly displaced and rotated in accordance therewith) in the width direction of the cover member (a width direction of the groove section). As a deformation of the lip members absorbs excessive movements of the cover member in the width direction, the lip members may corrugate or lie outside the groove section. To solve this problem, the lip members may be omitted from the cover member.
However, if the lip members are omitted from the cover member, only the friction between the side engaging sections of the cover member and the engaging section of the clip due to the urging force of the abutting piece section is a force for preventing the widthwise movement of the cover member in the groove section, and the movement of the cover member can not be effectively prevented by the friction described above.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the invention is to provide a clip and a structure for attaching a cover member, in which the cover member can be retained without an excessive movement of the cover member in the width direction regardless of the existence of the lip members at both sides of the cover member in the width direction.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
To achieve the aforementioned object, the first aspect of the invention provides a clip for attaching a cover member or trim for covering a groove section. The clip comprises a base plate to be attached to the groove section; a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate and engaging trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in a width direction thereof; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against an inner surface of a top wall of the trim in a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and a pair of the engaging sections. The abutting piece section includes free ends, which respectively abut against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof, as means of abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim.
The second aspect of the invention provides a structure for attaching a trim for covering a groove section by a clip attached to the groove section formed in a member to which the trim is mounted. The clip comprises a base plate attached to a bottom surface of the groove section; a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate and engaging trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim in a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and a pair of the engaging sections. The abutting piece section includes free ends, which respectively abut against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof, as means of abutting the inner surface of the top wall of the trim.
The third aspect of the invention provides a structure for attaching the trim by a plurality of clips, which is disposed sequentially in an extending direction of a groove section with an interval therebetween, to the groove section formed in a member to which a trim is mounted so that the trim for covering the groove section is held by means of a plurality of clips. In the structure for attaching the trim by a plurality of clips described above, each clip comprises a base plate attached to a bottom surface of the groove section; an engaging section projected from the base plate and engaging the trim side engaging section; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim under a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section. The abutting piece section constitutes a single engaging section, and each of the engaging sections engages sequentially and alternately to the trim side engaging section at both the sides of the trim in the width direction.
Each clip has one engaging section, and the engaging sections of the respective clips are disposed sequentially and alternately to engage the trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction. The abutting piece section includes a free end as means of abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim, and the free end abuts against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at a side where the engaging section of the clip exists.
According to the first aspect of the invention, the abutting piece section has the free end for abutting the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, a spring force of the free end is applied to the trim at a position closer to the engaging section as opposed to a center portion of the trim in the width direction. Thus, an engaging force (frictional force) between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction is effectively increased. Accordingly, regardless of the existence of the lip members at both sides of the trim in the width direction, the trim can be tightly held without loosening in the width direction.
Also, when the top wall of the trim is inclined by using a pair of the engaging sections with different projection heights, the deformation of the free end can be easily adjusted by changing inclination postures of the respective free ends. The engaging force between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section of the clip can be substantially equal at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
The free end for abutting against one side of the trim in the width direction may extend closer to one engaging section for abutting against the trim side engaging section at one side of the trim in the width direction, and the free end for abutting against the other side of the trim in the width direction may extend closer to the other engaging section for engaging the trim side engaging section at the other side of the trim in the width direction. In this aspect, a spring force of the free end is applied to the trim at a position closer to the engaging section as opposed to a center portion of the trim in the width direction. Thus, the engaging force (frictional force) between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction is further increased.
The abutting piece section may be formed of a pair of abutting piece sections disposed to sandwich a pair of the engaging sections therebetween. One of the abutting piece engaging sections has a free end that extends toward one engaging section side from the other engaging section side to thereby abut against one side of the trim in the width direction. The other abutting piece section constitutes a free end that extends from one engaging section side toward the other engaging section side to thereby abut against the other side of the trim in the width direction. In this aspect, the spring forces of a pair of the free ends effectively enhance the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections of the clip at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
Also, the abutting piece section may include a leg and a pair of free ends. One of the free ends abuts against one side of the trim in the width direction, and the other free end abuts against the other side of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, by means of the abutting piece section with a pair of the free ends, an increased spring force can be applied to both sides of the trim in the width direction.
A pair of the engaging sections may be disposed with an interval therebetween. Additionally, in an arranging direction of a pair of the engaging sections, a thickness of the trim is larger than a gap between one of the engaging sections and the free end abutting against one side of the trim in the width direction, and also larger than a gap between the other engaging section and the free end abutting against the other side of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, both sides of the trim in the width direction will not be inserted into a gap between the engaging sections and the free ends, to thereby prevent a trim from being attached incorrectly.
A projecting length of one of the engaging sections may be longer than that of the other engaging section. Furthermore, one free end for abutting one side of the trim has an increased inclination posture as compared with the other free end. Therefore, the trim can be disposed to be inclined, and the engaging force between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section can be still approximately identical at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the trim is mounted to the member using the clip according to the first aspect of the invention. Regardless of the presence of the lip members at both sides of the trim in the width direction, the trim is attached to the member without wobbling in the width direction.
Further, as an example of modifications, each clip may include only one engaging section, and the engaging sections of the clips may sequentially and alternately engage the trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction. The abutting piece section of each clip may include the free end as means for abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim, and the free end abuts against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at the side, in which the engaging section of the clip exists, between both sides of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, when the clip members can not be provided at both sides of the trim in the width direction as a plurality of clips is linked, the trim can be held at the member to which a trim is mounted without wobbling in the width direction of the trim. Accordingly, each clip needs only one engaging section and one free end, and an amount of material used for each clip can be reduced.
Also, the member to which the trim is mounted may be a roof of an automobile, and the trim may be a roof trim for the automobile. Thus, in the case the roof trim is attached to the roof of the automobile, the trim can be attached without wobbling in the width direction thereof.